High Five- Sola Gratia

This is a continuation of a series on the five “solas” of the reformation. Feel free to check out last week's post: Sola Scriptura and the introduction.

Sola Gratia

Salvation is by grace alone.

This week I want to take a look at Sola Gratia; that is, salvation is by grace alone. This idea comes straight out of Ephesians 2:8-9:

…by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Because of clear passages like this no confessing Christian of any stripe (whether orthodox or not) claims that salvation is not by grace alone (pardon the double negative). The real question comes down to what grace really is and how God really saves. Does grace alone mean that God has provided a sacramental system by which one works their way to heaven as Roman Catholics claim? Does it make all men merely savable as some evangelicals claim? Or does it mean that salvation is 100% of God as the reformed tradition claims?

In order to understand where the reformers were coming from it is important to know something of what they were up against. Martin Luther famously opposed the Catholic concept of indulgences by which a person could buy a loved one’s way out of purgatory. The saying of Johann Tetzel went like this “when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs” a phrase as poetical as it is heretical. Many Roman Catholics would now say that it was right for Martin Luther to oppose this act. Perhaps the medieval church went too far in allowing people to buy their way out of purgatory.

What I want to point out, however, is that the assumption of the concept of indulgences is actually one of the proofs that the Roman Catholic works-righteousness system is not sola gratia, namely, purgatory. To say that one must go to a place before heaven to atone for their own remaining sin is the opposite of what Ephesians 2 teaches. The grace taught here is apparently that Christ’s death achieved very little (especially when considering the concept of the Eucharist which considered a continual sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ).

Unfortunately the debate on this issue doesn’t stop at Catholic vs. Protestant. Within Protestantism are synergists and monergists. Synergists believe that salvation involves the cooperation of two wills: God and man for salvation. Even if you believe this is 99% God and 1% man you are a synergist. Monergists, on the other hand, believe that only one agent, God, is at work in salvation and the exercise of man’s will is an outworking of what God has done in them. When discounting the extremes of these two views they are both considered orthodox, though only one of them can be correct.

My personal belief is that Scripture teaches a monergistic salvation. I believe that when I was saved I put my trust in Christ because the Holy Spirit opened my heart to believe the gospel. This seems to be what Ephesians 2:1-7 teaches. Man is dead in sin which is defined as following our own desires led by Satan. But God saves us out of this by making us alive in Christ. Then in 2:8 Paul says that “this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” The question is, “what is the gift of God?” A synergist would say that Paul is simply speaking of salvation. This is because the way the sentence is constructed “this” can not point specifically to what we might consider the most natural word, “faith”. However, those with much more knowledge of Greek than myself (that’s not hard to do) point to this as an example of a word being used to sum up the entirety of the preceding phrase. In other words, when Paul says “this…is the gift of God” he means grace, salvation, and faith. If that is the way Paul meant his words there is very little doubt left that the monergist understanding of salvation is correct.

I don’t go into this much depth to confuse people or to be overly technical but to show that (1) the fact that there is this much to debate between the two protestant sides shows just how far off the Roman Catholic understanding is. (2) It seems clear that salvation by grace alone means that God saves man rather than merely making man savable. (3) How great is this grace which we encounter daily, mostly without realizing it or being thankful for it.

Salvation by grace alone is surely a wonderful doctrine which we should seek to understand at greater depths. Next week we will look at sola fide, the understanding that justification is by faith alone (Galatians 2:16). Or is it? (James 2:24)

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

High Five: Sola Scriptura

Just in way of reminder, the purpose of this post is to put the ideas expressed in the 5 solas of the reformation in front of us in way of reminder of just how important these truths are. To read my introduction from last week click the link here.

Sola Scriptura

Scripture Alone is the sole standard for doctrine and the Christian life.

The primary text referred to on this point is 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be
competent, equipped for every good work.

The most important thing to note here is that Scripture is “breathed out by God.” When you think of the inspiration of Scripture be careful not think of it as coming from men who were merely enlightened or motivated. Though the Bible certainly reflects the personality, writing style, and motives of the human author it is ultimately from the Holy Spirit. This should be all we need to know about Scripture to understand the concept of Sola Scriptura. Because God is omniscient, omnibenevolent, and cannot lie (Titus 1:2) His word is trustworthy.

Of course we should note some things in way of qualification that many people don’t understand when it comes to the sufficiency, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture.

1. The Bible is sufficient in all that it teaches.
You will not find a direct answer to the question “Does my Islamic friend truly know God?” in the Bible. This is mostly due to the fact that Islam came about after the canon of Scripture was closed. But there are plenty of biblical principles to guide you answering important questions.

2. The Bible does not claim 100% scientific precision.
The Bible is written to communicate to people in the way that people communicate. So when you read about the Sun rising you don’t have to assume that God doesn’t understand that the Earth revolves around the Sun anymore than when your local weatherman talks about the Sun rising. This also means that biblical measurements will not give you the exact number for pi and that round numbers are often used. (Ever notice that Jesus never spoke to a crowd of 4,322 people?)

3. Claims of sufficiency, infallibility, and inerrancy are in specific reference to the original manuscripts of Scripture, not necessarily your version.
Whether or not we can trust that we posses an accurate witness to what was originally written is another subject (I believe we do). But we have to remember that behind the English words in your NIV, NASB, ESV, and even KJV are translators, textual critics, and scribes who have worked hard to make what you read the most accurate reflection of what was originally written. These are imperfect sciences helping you access a perfect document.

The good news about this text is that it doesn’t stop at telling us that Scripture is “breathed out by God.” It continues to help us understand that Scripture is for the full equipping of the saints. We read that Scripture does all of this “that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” When I played baseball I went to a Sport’s shop to get my glove and cleats, a uniform shop for my jersey, and my cap was special ordered somewhere. Not only that but I had coaches to help me play better and none of them were located at those places where I bought my equipment, I had to go to various fields to practice. The baseball player knows nothing of one stop shopping if they want to be both equipped and competent for their trade. The man of God is able to go to the word of God in order to be equipped.

The point might be made, however, that this point diminishes the role of the church in the life of the believer. Does this not contradict Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”? Perhaps it would contradict the biblical role of the church in the life of the believer if Paul did not continue by showing the powerful role of the word in the church through preaching.

Just a few verses later in 4:2 Paul encourages Timothy, the pastor of the church at Ephesus, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” So the word of God is sufficient to equip a person in their daily individual life as well as the life of the corporate assembly of believers.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen